Florida attorney general threatens NFL over ‘Rooney Rule’

Todd Bowles of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is one of just three Black head coaches in the NFL. Florida’s attorney general wants the league to abolish its rule that helps ensure equitable hiring practices. Photo: NFL.com. 

The State of Florida is extending its widespread ban on policies that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) to the NFL.

​Attorney General James Uthmeier has demanded that the NFL abolish its Rooney Rule, which requires all teams to interview two external minority or female candidates for general manager or head coaching vacancies, or potentially face “civil rights enforcement action.” The initiative and other diversity policies “brazenly” violate Florida law, he wrote in a letter sent to Commissioner Roger Goodell on March 25.

​The NFL adopted the Rooney Rule in 2003 to ensure that “promising candidates have the opportunity to prove they have the necessary skills and qualifications to excel.” Tennessee Titans coach Robert Saleh, who is of Lebanese descent, was the only minority candidate hired to lead a team this offseason – despite 10 open positions. 

​“NFL fans in Florida don’t care what color their coach’s skin is,” Uthmeier wrote. “They care what colors their coach is wearing – and that those colors are winning on the football field.”

Attorney General James Uthmeier. Photo: State of Florida. 

​Politicoreported that Uthmeier sent a copy of the two-page letter to the owners of the NFL’s three Florida-based teams. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Miami Dolphins, and Jacksonville Jaguars have not publicly responded.

​Todd Bowles, one of just three Black head coaches among 32 NFL teams, leads the Bucs. The selective group also includes Aaron Glenn (New York Jets) and DeMarco Ryans (Houston Texans), both hired in the past two years.

​NFL executive vice president Jeff Miller responded to Uthmeier on Friday. “We are reviewing the letter,” he said. “We believe our policies are consistent with the law and reflect our commitment to fairness, opportunity, and building the strongest possible teams.”

​Uthmeir gave the league until May 1 to confirm that it will no longer enforce the Rooney Rule and multiple other DEI initiatives that consider “race, sex, or any other prohibited classification.” He wrote that “failure to provide such confirmation may result in a civil rights enforcement action.”

​“People with race and sex characteristics that the NFL doesn’t like are deprived of employment and training opportunities available to people with race and sex characteristics that the NFL likes,” Utmeier wrote. “This policy is blatant race and sex discrimination. And it is illegal under Florida law.”

​Corey Moore accepted a full-time scouting position with the Los Angeles Rams in May 2025 after spending 17 years building a powerhouse football program at Lakewood High School in South St. Petersburg. He participated in the Bill Walsh Minority Coaching Fellowship with the Bucs (2009) and Jaguars (2012).

​Moore’s relationship with the Rams began in 2020 when the franchise launched an apprenticeship program to address league-wide racial disparities. Uthmeier said the initiatives “deprive applicants of opportunities for employment.”

​Rooney Rule critics believe it is a perfunctory exercise that rarely achieves the desired results. Goodell said the NFL would continue evaluating the policy when addressing the media ahead of the Super Bowl.

​“I think we have become a more diverse league across every platform, including coaching, but we still have more work to do,” Goodells said in early February. “There’s got to be more steps.”

​The rule’s namesake is Dan Rooney, former owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers. His son, Art Rooney II, who currently owns the team and chairs the league’s DEI committee, told ESPN on Friday that the NFL has an obligation to consider Uthmeier’s demands.

​“There’s no question that the environment has changed in recent years,” Rooney said. “We do have an obligation to make sure that our policies comply with the laws, whatever the law is, and whatever the changes in law might be.”

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